Many animals such as horses and cows have hooves. For example, a typical horse hoof comprises three parts, the sole, wall and frog.
The “sole” holds the weight of a horse. The sole is connected to the hoof wall.
The “hoof wall” is formed at a corner of the sole where skin like cells mix with horny tissue to form a hard hoof wall. The hoof wall has a inner layer of laminae which locks together with a second set of laminae. The second set of laminae is attached to the pedal bone and holds the hoof firmly in place.
At the horse's heel, the hoof wall turns inward toward the “frog.” The frog forms the bars of the foot, which slightly gives when the horse makes contact with the ground, absorbing some of the impact. A well shaped frog touches the ground when a horse moves.
A horse hoof is comprised of a large percentage of water and are similar in hardness and texture to human fingernails. Horse hooves typically reflect their environment. Wet conditions produce soft hoof walls. Dry conditions produce hard hoof walls and dirty conditions produce unhealthy hooves.
Horses in their natural environment care for their own hooves during their constant ranging for forage. Horses in captivity typically require hoof care by their owners. Such hoof care typically includes scrapping and shaving, applying “horse shoes,” applying medicines, etc.
It is difficult to apply horse shoes to wet horse hoofs since horse hooves can become “mushy” much like human fingernails after prolonged soaking, leading to less rigidity in the hoof wall. This can cause shoes to loosen due to the tendency for the clinches to pull through or “pop.” This also can lead to a tearing of the hoof wall, making re-application of the shoes more difficult.
Excess flexibility of the hoof wall due to wet hooves can lead to the foot spreading out over the sides of the horse shoe. This results in a loss of support and potential for lameness or injury.
Excessively wet or soft hooves are more sensitive making them more difficult to shoe. Sensitive hoofs lead to soreness, bruising, and lameness when the horse is worked on hard ground or over stones.
Horse hooves often need to be quickly dried for example, for hoof wall repair, preparation for medication for hoof diseases such as thrush and white-line disease, and preparation of the hoof for application of hoof dressings.
There is a need to quickly and efficiently dry horse hooves for these and many other reasons. However, there are many problems associated with dryers for horse hoofs know in the art. One problem is that most dyers known in the art are not specifically designed or suited to drying horse hoofs or the hoofs of other hoofed animals. Another problem is that such dyers often scare or spook horses and other hoofed animals.
Another problem is that such dryers are typically used around and on top of a hoof and do not dry hoofs from underneath or from the bottom to the top. Another problem is that such dryers typically do not allow a hoofed animal insert a hoof into the drying apparatus. Another problem is that such dryers are not portable.
Thus, it is desirable to provide a dyer to dry the hoofs of hoofed animals that solves one or more of the described problems.